Government Department Of Transport News

Ferries serving the Western Isles and West Coast of Scotland could soon be powered by hydrogen generated from onshore island wind power, according to a newly published feasibility study.The Scottish Western Isles Ferry Transport Using Hydrogen (SWIFTH2) project, which was led by the Point and Sandwick Trust in collaboration with seven industry partners including Wood, was part-funded by the Scottish Government’s Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme.The project team also included Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, ITM Power, ENGIE, Ferguson Marine Engineering, Caledonia Marine Assets Ltd and Johnston Carmichael.The study assessed the feasibility of deploying hydrogen-powered passenger ferries on nine existing Caledonian MacBrayne ferry routes servicing the Western Isles.

A Maritime 2050 Call for Evidence has been launched by the UK government’s Department for Transport (DfT) to seek the views of both those within and outside the sector. "Maritime 2050 is a long term strategy to secure the future of the UK maritime sector. This call for evidence asks those involved in or who rely on the maritime sector to contribute to the development of Maritime 2050," said a statement from the government. It introduces a number of themes for respondents to consider. The call for evidence is aimed at industry, academia and anyone with an interest in the ongoing success of maritime in the UK. It includes details of how to respond and the additional activities that will support the evidence gathering process.

The total number of UK seafarers active at sea fell for the third consecutive year to 22,830 in 2013, according to the government's Department for Transport's Seafarer Statistics, 2013, representing a 5% annual decrease in numbers. There were 10,840 certificated UK officers active at sea, 1% less than in 2012, and the number of UK officers has been falling over the past seven years. The series peaked in 2006 before falling sharply in 2007 which may have been due to a surge in renewed certificates prior to February 2002, when the STCW95 regulations were fully implemented.

DP World welcomes the start of dredging Soai Rap River in Vietnam bringing customers faster access to its Saigon Premier Container Terminal. The Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) Government Department of Transport is undertaking the USD 134 million project, and yesterday held a special ground breaking ceremony, attended by HCMC Chairman Mr Le Hoang Quan amongst other senior government authorities, and senior DP World, Than Thuan Industrial Promotion Company (IPC) and shipping lines representatives. The ten month project, which will see the dredging of a 54 kilometre long section of the river, will make the navigation channel available for commercial operation in Q4 2013. The channel will be deepened to a 9.5 metre draft to handle 50,000 to 70,000 gross tonnage ships.